


until the flowers bloom again (stay a little longer)

by oikiwi



Category: Haikyuu!!, 蛍火の杜へ | Hotarubi no Mori e
Genre: First Love, Growing Up Together, Inspired by a Movie, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Spirits, i just finished crying my eyes out after watching the movie and thought, slight angst, u know what I'd love? a kagehina AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oikiwi/pseuds/oikiwi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata knows that Kageyama is someone so strong and simultaneously fragile, fated to disappear under a single human’s touch. That he’s an ephemeral existence, sitting on the thin line between existing and meeting his inevitable end. </p><p>They’re standing so close to one another, and still, always out reach. But if you were to ask Hinata, he’d answer with such conviction that he’d never take any of it back, not even for the world.</p><p>[hiatus]</p>
            </blockquote>





	until the flowers bloom again (stay a little longer)

 

_6:56 AM_

 

 

Dim light spills through the train’s windows on an early morning as it leaves the station, cold glass fogging up with every slight puff of warm breath Hinata exhales. He watches the city slowly unravel before him, face pushed up against the windows, excitedly observant. 

He’s always looked forward to this every single summer. Something that leaves him counting down the weeks, days, hours; something even the thought of brings him joy _—_ or, more specifically, _someone._

Someone he still remembers meeting, even as a very young child.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was a tradition from that moment on.

Hinata waits excitedly for this; to visit the town of  _Ta-ka-mo-ri_ - _ma-chi_ , fixated on saying it as quickly as he can for five minutes straight, tongue-tied and giggling—  _pronunciation’s never really been his thing._

Not having seen them since they last visited almost two years ago, he’s more than excited from the minute he hears his parents say, “You can start packing your things now, Shouyou, you’re going to visit your uncles this Tuesday.”

He looks out the window now, excitedly waving a  _goodbye_  to his mother and father, until the train leaves the platform and the view is replaced by early-morning blurred hues of green, yellow, and blue.

The first three hours pass by smoothly; entertaining himself with the three-hundred-page chapter book he'd brought along. But after a while, he sighs in frustration and shoves it back into his backpack. He’s bored.

Breakfast on the train consists of a bland sandwich and a juice box, and Hinata's  _still_  hungry even after it, so he sleeps. The next two hours pass quickly afterwards, and he wakes with a start as the speakers announce they've reached their destination. Walking off the train in a sleepy haze, Hinata slings his backpack over his shoulder, stretches his legs, and rolls his small carry-on behind him, rubbing the last bits of tiredness out of his eyes. In the distance, he sees his uncles waving and he brightens up, approaching at full speed until he crashes into their open arms.

 

Hinata spends the car ride home mesmerized by the scenery; nothing like the city he lives in at  _all. It's really, really pretty._

 

_And quiet._

 

They let him take it all in and don't rain question after question down of him until  _after_  they arrive.

The car pulls into a big driveway at a large, traditional-looking home, hidden only a small, dusty path from a main road surrounded by towering trees and bushes and lonely fields.

Hinata rushes to leave his luggage in the spare room he’s given and runs right off after only a few minutes of arriving to his uncle’s home. It's so  _big_  and  _cool_  and  _nothing_  like his small home back in the city.

He doesn’t stop exploring and poking around the new house. That is, until he runs just a little too quickly and can't stop in time, before tripping into a low table in the center of the living room and knocking over various glass cups that fall onto the ground and only break once they clash against each other.

“Shouyou?”

 _Oh no._  Luckily unscathed, he quickly runs to slide the kitchen open and sees his uncle, hand in midair already set to pull the door open, before choosing to shyly look back down to the floor instead of yelling whatever was on the tip of his tongue just now.

“Hey, now,” Sugawara picks up the small child with a worried expression, “Are you alright?” And at Hinata’s affirmation only sighs, “Oh, thank God. Try not to go breaking everything though, kiddo, it’s barely noon,” He adds with a small smile.

“I-I’m sorry...” Hinata stutters.

Sawamura suddenly appears behind Sugawara, cooking chopsticks raised in one hand. “Do you want to go play outside while your uncle and I finish making dinner?”

Hinata’s face brightens up at that.

“You can play in the front yard, or look around. But I have  _one_  rule— no going out into the forest shrine, okay? Actually, just— don’t go past the path that leads to the main road.” _Forest shrine_  is all Hinata registers. _Why not?_

“The forest shrine is dangerous,” Sugawara states, answering Hinata’s unspoken question. “You could get hurt, or lost. Besides,” he continues, voice lower, “it’s said that lots of spirits and monsters live there. Are you sure you want to meet them?”

Hinata’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head rapidly in response. “Alright, just remember to not stray too far; your uncle and I will call for you once it’s time for lunch.”

So, he listens. He spends all afternoon playing out with the dogs and falling one too many times. He even goes out into town, with permission, to get some popsicles later in the afternoon, and by the time night comes around, he falls asleep almost instantly.

But of course, not even two days later, curiosity wins over as expected and Hinata breaks a few rules.

It’s a humid, hot day like any other and he’s _bored._ It’s not that he’s tired of being here, no, but the dogs are resting, and his uncles have taken the rest of the afternoon to fix up the kitchen; repairing the leaky faucet and cleaning after today’s messy attempt at making lunch together, the three of them.

He isn’t tired, and he can’t seem to find what to _do._ That is, until he thinks back to his first day here. Hinata shoots up from his position on the floor, no longer splayed out like a starfish, and slips into his shoes. He runs out the door, only muttering a quick, “I’ll be right back!”

The forest isn’t  _that_ far from the house, just an old, desolate road away. At least the  _shrine_  entrance is, as the forest itself surrounds many places, but he'd rather be safe than sorry, not wanting to get lost within the first five minutes of exploring. After he sees it in the distance he feels as if he’s run miles by how he’s panting and by the way his t-shirt sticks to his back with sweat.

 

 _“Remember to stay out of the forest shrine or you’ll get lost.”_  He’d been told, barely two days beforehand. Those words bounce around in his head as he stares at the long stairs leading to the shrine deep in the forest. Moss covers the edges of the dark gray stone, worn with age, and cicadas sing in the tall, thin trees above.

 

Hinata won’t. He’s just going to explore a bit.  _That’s all,_ he says to himself, as he runs forward and climbs the steps, chasing a butterfly, disappearing even more into the shadows of the trees that shield him from the scorching sun. Or at least, that’s what he  _believes,_ until it’s been an hour and he  _still_ can’t find his way out of the forest.

The sky is starting to turn orange when he starts to cry. Tears fall and he’s scared, because the sun is about to set and he doesn’t even know where he  _is_. Not to mention that he’s afraid of the dark.

Images of scary monsters appear in his head, remembering the stories his family had told him about the spirits supposedly residing in this very forest.

Quick to create a feeling of panic rising in his chest, he keeps crying, and crying, so much that he almost doesn’t notice the rustle of leaves from behind him and a soft “Hey, kid, are you okay?”

Hinata almost immediately stops crying and turns around quickly, now facing a young man who, guessing from his height and voice he’s not very  _big_. Although, it’s impossible to tell, really, because the face of said man is covered by a beautifully carved and painted white and red mask.

He sniffles, mesmerized, and only utters out a, “Huh?”

A sigh. “I  _said,”_ The man starts slowly as if trying to keep his voice and temper under control, “are you okay? Do you… happen to be lost?”

It’s only a few seconds after Hinata pieces everything together that he rushes to say, “Y-yes, I am!”

 _I’m saved!_ He thinks, and starts inching towards him, wanting to hold tight onto whatever might be his chance of finding his way out. He sprints forward but falls to the ground as the man moves away, leaving him to crash into a nearby bush—  _that’ll leave a mark._

“Hey—”

“Wait,” Hinata gets interrupted, “You’re a human child, aren’t you?”

 _Human child?_ He thinks, and blurts out, “Well, what else would I be?”

 

 “Well, that’s just it,” the man grumbles. “you can’t touch me.”

“Can’t… touch you? What? Why?” Hinata begins asking, ever curious, while slowly taking a few steps forward.

The masked man in front of him takes a few steps back. “You really don’t know anything, do you? You _—_ ” he cuts himself off. “Never mind.”

 

“You said I was human, right? Does that mean you’re not?” Hinata inquires, words now coming out miles-per-hour. “What are you, then? A monster? A-Are you a _—_ ”

 

“ _No,_ ” He’s interrupted, and Hinata scowls. “I’m not a monster, or a human. I’m just something that lives here, in the forest. See,” He continues almost reluctantly, “I had a spell cast upon me. If a human ever touches me, I’ll cease to exist. It’s as simple as that.”

 

 _A spell? Cease-to-exist? That means he’ll disappear, right? Isn’t that sad?_ _That isn’t simple at all!_ Various questions fly into Hinata’s head like a flock of scared birds, but it is left behind as his curiosity overpowers it all and he decides to walk quickly forward instead.

He doesn’t even get to hear a quick warning when suddenly, he feels a tree branch collide with his forehead, and falls, clutching his head in pain.

“What are you _doing?”_ the same voice shouts, “Did you  _not_  hear anything I just said?”

 

“S-sorry,” Hinata apologizes, a frown now set upon his face again.  _Scary,_ he thinks, and jumps as he hears a,  _“What did you just call me?!”_

Another sigh, and Hinata feels a stick poke his hand. “Here,” he’s told, the stranger’s voice softer now. “You’re lost, aren’t you? I’ll lead you out.”

He’s quick to grab on as he looks around, the sky now beginning to turn darker shades of purple-blue.

The stick scratches roughly against his hand as he’s quickly led out, the path walked much quicker than he expected.  _This guy’s probably been here for a long time,_ Hinata thinks.

 

After a while of walking and debating or not whether to break the silence, he starts to complain. “Hey, mister… my legs hurt. I’m so  _tired—_ ”

 

 _“_ Shut up. If you want, I can just leave you here for you to find out how to leave on your own—”

“No!”

 

*

 

Not much longer after, they reach the old shrine.

“These steps will lead you down back to the main road. You remember where you came from, right?” He nods.

“It’s already dark.”  The older continues. “You should hurry. I don’t want to end up finding you a couple meters down from here crying because you’re  _scared,_ ” He taunts, to which Hinata responds distressed, “I-I won’t cry! I’m not afraid! I’m not!”

Something of a laugh is heard behind the man’s mask; teasing, and an expecting silence falls.

“Wait, you… you stay here forever, don’t you?” Hinata speaks quietly again, “Can I come back to see you?”

“You shouldn’t,” Comes the man’s quick response. “It’s dangerous.”

“But I have you to protect me!” The redhead smiles, happy. The man is silent in response.

"My name is Hinata Shouyou.” He states boldly. “What’s yours?”

He stares back at the red and white mask, an awkward silence filling the air between them. “Uh… a-anyway, I’ll come back here tomorrow. I’ll bring a thank-you gift!” He shouts and runs down the steps, only to stop short when he hears his voice.

“Kageyama.”

When Hinata turns around, there’s nothing more staring back at him than an old shrine in the near distance and the trees that surround it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently a one-shot thing; I ((tragically)) lost the rest of the chapters due to a computer malfunction, so until I get them back I'll leave it as a small, one-chapter glimpse into a HNME Kagehina AU. It was actually really fun to write!

**Author's Note:**

> References: In case anyone wants to see what I have based the scenery off of, because my words really cannot do it justice:
> 
> >https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@32.8630315,131.1665062,3a,75y,149.78h,94.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1so6cyMSuxOVtwIp58Jd4D8g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
> 
> >https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@32.8581615,131.1616589,3a,75y,162.11h,99.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1so4YjD3AxdleX11IMfkktOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
> 
> >https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@32.8567369,131.1588583,3a,75y,195.77h,102.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKpWTk7XNNCTs-DihIJ-LBw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
> 
> (at first I simply I wanted to get a view of the entire place itself, and honestly, it’s incredibly beautiful, I really had to share it. there’s just so much nature aaaaa)


End file.
